Inspiration Nation// DIY Floral Prints!

Custom cards, custom giftwrap, custom wall decals, custom fabric...whaaa?? Maybe it's not as tough as it sounds. Maybe that software which you thought was for kids to doodle on isn't all you made it  out to be. Enter Paint. Today we are gonna use this seemingly humble guy to make some fabulous floral prints, ready to be printed on well, about anything! Shall we get adventurous dahlin'?

Imagine lovely floral patterns like these to make your own fabric clutches or beautiful pencil pouches. Or imagine adorable journal cards sitting on your desk. All in any color you want. I'm going to show you how to get your designs on fabric at the end of the post!

Cravings Ravings//Nutella n' Kitkat Brownies!

These brownies are dunked in glorious Kitkat.
They have a whole lotta rich Nutella whipped in.
They have cereal krispies that give them a superior crunch.
Are you salivating yet?

Have you noticed that I'm into a lot of foodie posts lately and hardly used to do any before? I think these past few months, the chef syndrome has caught on after being on a va-cay with my cousin sisters who are gorgeous cooks!

Anyhow, this recipe was adapted and modified from "Culinary Concoctions by Peabody" and cheers to her for pushing a no-baker like me enough to give this a shot. While she and I did the base the same, I did the topping differently. Mine lies more in the range of a melty-chocolatey ganache frosting combo. And not to forget, I like my brownies warm and fudgey when I bite in 'em! :)

You'll need:

• 1 box brownie mix (I use an 8x8 inch Pyrex dish)
• 5-6 large Kitkat bars
• Cocoa Powder Unsweetened/regular (according to taste)
• 1/8 cup of water
• 1 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup Nutella
• 1/2 cup cereal Krispies
• 1/2 cup crushed chocolate biscuits
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. salt (optional)

How-to:

1.Grease the baking dish and prepare the brownie batter according to directions. Dunk the kitkat bars inside the brownie batter. You might wanna break a few bars into half to distribute evenly. I found I had to do this a bit at the edges/sides.

2.Bake your brownies according to package instructions!

3. While the unreasonably decadent aroma of the brownies baking caresses you senses, get set on making your hybrid ganache!

4.Start by melting the butter in a pan and add the Nutella, gently mixing it in. Next add the Vanilla, Krispies and chocolate biscuits. Depending on the sweetness of your chocolate biscuits, you may want to adjust the amount of cocoa powder, If they are sweet, use more of unsweetened Cocoa powder, and less of the normal kind.

5. I think I added about 4 tbsp. Cocoa powder (regular) and 1 tbsp. unsweetened Cocoa powder.

Add in the water and remove your pan from the stove. Make the mixture into a lovely thick, creamy consistency. Set this mixture aside.

6. When your brownies are ready, spread a decent layer evenly over the whole surface of the oven-hot brownies and keep in the fridge to chill for about 20-30 minutes.

7.You'll find that the topping has settled a bit onto the top and niches of the brownies Cut up your brownies into small serving squares, style your table for a tea-party and have a whopping time in some beautiful warm sunshine by your favorite window!

The result? Dazzling taste of Kitkat and Nutella melded together, crunch from the Krispies and biscuits toning down the sweetness a notch and of course the irresistible brownies themselves!

Yep, somebody needs to pull me away from the screen while i upload these images so that I don't go reminiscing those luxurious memories for the 903138294th time.

If you want a less fluid consistency of the ganache, all you need to do is to chill these babies longer in the fridge. 

I'm pretty sure you'll go as nutty for this recipe as I am right now. If you do intend to try it or have your loved one bake it for you, don't forget to tweet/share/pin this! I want the whole world to know there's something so easy and so utterly fantastic that can be make quick n' easy combing all these "oooohhh" flavors!

Don't forget to check out my other ravishing recipes like Creamy Chicken Pasta, Orange Chicken and Korean Fried Chicken here!

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HAVE A WONDERFULICIOUS WEEK AHEAD!

HUGS, LOVE N' HI5s, NASH

Inspiration Nation// DIY Stationery/Makeup Brush Roll!

Helllooooooooooooooo!!! Part four of the Design Your Series is now here! Check it out!

Do you have leftover mismatched stationery that makes your workspace looked cluttered? Or maybe you need to sort out some itsy bitsy stationery that comes in singles? Either way, you don't wanna lose that one paintbrush or color pencil that always seems to be disappearing! Maybe you'd like a gorgeous lil travel companion! This is PERFECT to sort out your stationery as well as makeup brushes and other essentials PLUS it's so thrifty it's made right out of a pillowcase! Excited yet???

You'll need:

1. A thrifty pillowcase cover
2.Scissors, measuring ruler and ball pins
3. A sewing Machine and some matching (to the fabric) thread reels
4.Ribbon coordinating your pillowcase
5.Your mum, if you're less than a sewing newbie!

Steps:

1.I'll assume this step for the general size of most pillows. You'll want to mentally map out the length of your pillowcase into four equal parts. Fold over one-fourth from one side and then fold over again. Cut across. So now you have half the length of your pillowcase. Put the other half aside as we won't be needing that anymore.

2.You'll have an uneven edge from where you cut one side of your fabric. You'll have to invert the about half an inch inside so the uneven edge isn't visible and sew over.

3. On this just stitched edge, place the ribbon end at one corner (wrong side down with right side up of fabric) and sew over till you reach the other corner with the rest of your ribbon trailing.

4. Remember we left the other side of the ribbon trailing? When you come at the edge of the length of the fabric, you need to count 7 inches from there and form a loop with those seven inches; then secure the formed loop at the same corner of the fabric. This is what it looks like.(Now again we have the rest of the ribbon trailing after the stitched loop)

5.Mentally divide the fabric into one-thirds.Fold over a third of the fabric (with the ribbon trim showing) and pin the folded flap down momentarily. Then mark dividends (wide or narrow) with a ruler and pencil according to the width of what you want to stuff in. (I did a combination of both narrow and wide pockets to fit an assortment of junk I've piled up!)

6. Make creases by folding the fabric just to get an idea of where you have to sew.Sew vertical lines aligning with the marks you've mapped out to form the pockets.

7. All done! Now tuck in your pencils or brushes and roll over the fabric! Reminds me of a yum chocolate cake roll right now, but then, I'm such a loyal chocoholic!
To secure the roll, cut off the trailing ribbon as much as the length it takes to go twice over the roll, form a loop and knot it with the previously sewn loop. Do this and check how much length it takes and then trim your ribbon!

That is how you knot the ribbon at the end. I hope you get the idea!

Time to tuck in your mismatched pencils and give them their own lil' home!

Not a crafty chic? You can still use these for your compact mirrors and makeup brushes for on-the-go!

I hope the tutorial was clear enough for you folks! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to drop over a comment! I would also love to know which function you think this serves better!

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                    You can check out the rest of the Design Your Own Series posts here!

Lots of happy hugs, have a wonderful week!
Nash